The following is the full text of the speech delivered on May 2, 2012 by Ayatollah Khamenei the Leader of the Islamic Revolution in a meeting with teachers.
In the Name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful
Dear brothers and sisters, worthy teachers of this nation's children, welcome. I deem it necessary to commemorate our great martyr Shahid Motahhari at the beginning of my statements because that honorable man was a teacher, a teacher who taught at different levels and whose performance was effective and timeless. His [martyred] blood proved his righteousness. The name of this great man is appropriately associated with honoring the teachers of our country. May God bestow His mercy on that great man.
The main purpose of this meeting is to express our respect for you dear teachers. Of course, there are certain things regarding education, the educational system and textbooks that have discussed previously on different occasions and I will discuss them in this meeting as well. However, the purpose of the annual meeting that I arrange with teachers on Teachers' Day is to show, prove and announce that we attach a lot of importance to the position of teachers and this is the right thing to do.
There are a few things that make teachers valuable. One of these things is that the raw materials which are in the hands of teachers are human beings, not lifeless objects. This is a very important point. Sometimes people spend hours on an object in order to turn it into something useful and such efforts are valuable. Other times we have to work with a human being instead of an object, a human being with talents, emotions, feelings and numerous capabilities. Your teenage student might one day become a person like Imam Khomeini (r.a.). He might become a social reformer. He might become a prominent scientist. He might become a righteous and virtuous person. All these capacities exist among the teenagers and children who attend your classes. Teachers are responsible for realizing these talents. Notice how important their role is. I am mainly addressing our people in general, people from various social backgrounds: it is necessary for you to appreciate the value and position of teachers.
Our honorable teachers should also appreciate the importance of their role and mission. They should know how much they can contribute to their society if they carry out their duty in a determined and serious way and with the right intentions, divine intentions. Their contribution is not ordinary contribution - it is extraordinary. Notice how important it is to train a virtuous, knowledgeable, capable and righteous individual. One of your students might reform the world. The same student might become a person like Hitler or Genghis Khan if he is not trained in the right way. This shows the importance and value of the efforts, devotion, thoughts and actions of teachers.
I am also addressing those who are in charge of our educational system. After all, our teachers work within the framework and regulations determined by our educational system. Therefore, the people, teachers and the educational system should not forget the importance of the role of teachers. Teachers take the most valuable raw materials of creation and shape them into the best possible products.
Therefore, it would not be an exaggeration to say that the purpose of my annual meeting with teachers is to express my respect for teachers. What I am trying to say is that I recognize the importance and value of your role and position. If teachers act well and wisely, if they work with devotion, I believe all problems of our society will go away. This is not to say that all the factors that play a role in educating our youth are limited to the school environment. No, families, the media and the social context also play a role in this regard. There is no doubt in this regard. But teachers can play such an important role that all other factors fade into insignificance. This shows the value of teachers.
I would tell you that Allah the Exalted will bestow many virtues on you because of your job. That is to say, when you are teaching, you should know that God's angels are recording every minute of your work as righteous deeds. How valuable it is to have a job every minute of which is recorded as worship.
Of course, apart from the great significance of teaching, there is another point that further highlights the importance of teaching - namely the effort that teachers make. In the classroom, teachers are faced with different children and teenagers and with different youthful feelings and sentiments. They have to tolerate everything patiently, which makes their work even more valuable. Therefore, Teachers' Day is an auspicious occasion. May God make this day auspicious for all teachers and for all Iranian people.
There is another point that is related to the educational system. The educational system is a large organization. The educational system provides an opportunity for the country and the Revolution. The officials in charge of the educational system have an organization with several million people, an organization that has spread to different parts of the country like a neural system or veins. The educational system has spread to different cities and villages. Fortunately the educational system has permeated every part of the country, especially after the Revolution. The educational system is a large national organization. We do not have any other organization that is as large as the educational system. The people come and eagerly entrust their children to this organization.
The educational system is responsible for great things. The opportunity that is available to this organization increases its responsibilities. I would like to stress this increased responsibilities. As was recently pointed out by the esteemed Minister of Education, good things are being done in the Ministry of Education. They spend a lot of time working and holding meetings. They cooperate and exchange views. These things are extremely valuable. I would like to express my appreciation for the efforts that are being made, but notice that the work is so important that we must not feel satisfied with the efforts we have made, no matter how hard we work.
I have made certain points about the need for fundamental change in the educational system. In my meetings with our teachers, the officials in charge of cultural affairs, the High Council of Cultural Revolution and others, I repeated my points over an extended period of time and fortunately there were certain results in the sense that the document for fundamental change was prepared and approved. Today our educational system has a written document which has determined the methods of introducing fundamental change into the educational system. Part of the work has been done. The document is like a medical prescription. If we go to a doctor, pay the fees, have our body thoroughly examined, receive a prescription, put it in our pocket and just leave for home, this is not at all different from not going to the doctor in the first place, except that we have spent money and took the trouble. It is necessary to get the prescribed drugs and use them. A prescription specifies the drugs, the doses and when they should be taken. It is necessary to do these things after going to a doctor and if we fail to do so, going to the doctor and getting a prescription will make no difference at all. We already have the document for fundamental change in the educational system, which is like a prescription and it is necessary to make accurate plans on the basis of each and every article of the document. This is because it is a matter of introducing fundamental change in the educational system, not just superficial change.
The structure of our educational system had been imported from abroad and there were certain ulterior motives. For many years we acted according to the principles of the imported system. Even if the system were our own, even if it were indigenous, we would naturally have encountered certain problems in a few years. Therefore, it is always necessary to reform and introduce change. Introducing fundamental change in the educational system is a necessity. We need to introduce fundamental change in the educational system, if we want to increase the efficiency of the time and money we spend. If we want to increase the efficiency of the teachers who are sent to different schools throughout the country, we need to introduce fundamental change in the educational system and this fundamental change requires planning. It is necessary to make plans for every step of the document.
There is a need for a road map. It is necessary to avoid a situation in which a particular government official, minister or manager makes a certain decision and the next person who takes his place makes a different decision on the basis of his subjective judgment. This would waste time and energy in the country. This is an essential point. It is necessary to make solid and accurate plans for this fundamental change. We need to reach a consensus on a road map so that it is ensured that the educational system will move ahead according to the road map.
There is another point in this regard: refusing to abandon the work that is being done, which is related to the first point. It is necessary to avoid abandoning the work that is being done. It is necessary to continue until we achieve the ultimate result. Otherwise if we start a project, spread the news, make certain people happy, encourage criticism or praise only to get discouraged after a while and stop following up the project, then the essence of the work will be harmed. I am addressing this point to our managers - our senior managers in different ministries, provinces and cities.
The issue of books is important, the issue of planning is important, the issue of regulations is important, and the issue of teachers is the most important of all. If it is necessary to hold in-service courses for our teachers in order to help them improve - which is among the primary issues - then we must arrange such courses.
The importance of the educational system is what I want to infer from all the points I mentioned. If one were to list all our national issues in terms of importance, the educational system would be at the top of the list. The fate of our youth depends on the educational system. Our ethical principles depend on the educational system. Certain people are complaining why we are not making progress on the ethical front. Of course, they have a point and I acknowledge that it is necessary for us to make progress on the ethical front, but one of the requirements is to have role models for our youth. Some people create bad role models for our youth with their behavior, their actions and their statements. Creating appropriate role models is one of the most essential things that we should do. We have no shortage of good role models in the country. We have so many good youth and so many luminaries - whose names will go down in history. All we need to do is introduce them to our society and create outstanding figures and role models for our youth. The people I am speaking about were young individuals who outshone their pioneers, young individuals who used to be the students of people like myself but who overtook us. We gave promises, but they took action. We taught, but they took action. We failed to take action. Many of those youth and many of our martyrs learnt from people like myself, but they finally did better than us and left us behind. They brought about more dignity for the country and achieved more spiritual dignity for themselves. This is because we gave promises, but they took action. We have so many good youth in the country. It is necessary to identify them one by one and introduce them to our young generation as role models. Highlighting their pride, their determination, their honesty, their moral health, their sacrifices, their insight and their behavior towards their countrymen, parents, friends and family, and presenting them to our youth as role models will be instructional.
In any case there are many things that should be done. There are many things that should done by the educational system, by the organizations that are in charge of public relations, by the IRIB, by our governmental organizations and by the people wear the same clothes as myself [the clergy]. We are responsible and we need to fulfill the heavy responsibilities we are shouldering. We need to accept responsibility. We need to work hard. Everybody should work hard.
Now I would like to make a point about the upcoming election. One of the important things is the election that will be held the day after tomorrow. The people of Iran have vigilantly done the right thing at the right time over the past 33 years. The same is true of the era before the Revolution, which resulted in the victory of the Revolution later on. The Iranian people have acted in this way over the past 33 years. Whenever they were vigilant and took action at the right time, they accomplished valuable and great achievements. One example is the recent election which was held in Esfand. The people of Iran did well in that election. They were brilliant and their performance had its effects. However, they only did one part of the work and the other part has not been done yet. With the long stride that the people of Iran will take on Friday, they will go to the ballot boxes and complete the parliamentary election. By Allah's favor, they will show more brilliance in front of the people of the world.
The modern world is a world in which the people of nations should prove themselves. The people will not achieve anything by standing aside, staying idle and pinning their hopes on others. The people can achieve success by staying vigilant and brining their capacities into the arena. This is the case with the modern world. Of course, this has always been the case, but the people are more vigilant in the modern world. A great nation with a great historical background and scientific legacy might wake up to the fact that it is among backward nations that do not have a historical background or a scientific legacy only if it shows lack of vigilance and fails to step into the arena and take action.
The Iranian nation is present on the scene. It is prepared. Fortunately the people of Iran are insightful and they know when to take action. Thankfully the people of Iran also know their enemies. Over the past 33 years we have identified our enemies. We have identified the people who are our enemies but who might hypocritically pretend to be our friends at times. In the middle of the conflict that is going on between the materialistic powers of the world, the people of Iran should be vigilant and they should be on the scene so that they can defend their rights, their future and their future generations. Elections are one of the arenas and there are many other arenas as well.
I believe there are bright prospects for our nation. Thanks to God's grace, I have not felt even for a single moment that these bright prospects are becoming dim and doubtful. Every time I think about this, I feel that the future is bright and by Allah's favor, a bright future is awaiting us. I would tell you that by Allah's grace, the future of Islamic Iran - namely when today's youth enter the arena of work - will be far better than its current conditions.
I hope Allah the Exalted makes all of you successful. I hope Allah the Exalted bestows His grace on our youth. I hope He helps everybody. May God help us fulfill our responsibilities wherever we are.
Greetings be upon you and Allah's mercy and blessings